Their Eyes Were Watching God Symbol Analysis

Despite Tea Cake’s death at the end of the book, Janie feels content with her life because she was able to achieve a sense of self-recognition. Even though Tea Cake is physically absent, Janie is able to feel his spirits with her fond memories of him. The memories take away the sadness Janie feels and fills Janie with an understanding of all that she has gained and become. Unlike her other two marriages that limited Janie in her self-discovery, Janie's marriage with Tea Cake had a lot more equality resulting in a lot more love. Her marriage with Tea Cake also allowed Janie to experience life and become more independent.

Janie is beginning to realize who she truly is and has been awakened through the scenic vision of the nature around her, presenting her womanhood in front of her eyes.

Janie has many distinctive characteristics: independence, confidence, and trustfulness, for example. On page 89, author Zora Neale Hurston states, “She [Janie] would have the rest of her life to do as she pleased.” This quote is a prime example of Janie’s independent spirit. Janie’s confidence is shown on page 113, when she says [talking about her planned marriage to Vergible “Tea Cake” Woods], “Anyhow, Ah’m ready and willin’ tuh try im.”

Her hair was possibly the last hope of freedom she had that Joe hadn’t taken from her. Janie’s hair symbolized her self and freedom, and since it was taken away from her, it portrays how Janie has no control of her life and her identity with Joe in her life. A second example of symbolism used in the novel was the horizon mentioned at the beginning and the end of the novel. The horizon was mentioned in the first paragraph of the novel as. “For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away…”(Hurston 1). And in the final paragraph of the novel it’s shown as, “Here was peace. [Janie] pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder.”(Hurston 193). This horizon, in a sense, symbolizes one’s identity, specially Janie’s, and how it was once out of reach, being observed, and now it can be wrapped around and worn as a badge of pride. Janie had struggled through so many hardships between those two quotes that ultimately lead to her finding her identity. With the horizon itself symbolizing Janie’s identity, it helps argue the major theme of identity within this

In many novels, authors have implemented social constructs in order to shape the mood of the books. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston alludes to social class, especially race, subtly. Hurston’s background of anthropology and growing up as an African-American woman clearly plays a role in the social makeup of the novel. The main character of the novel, Janie, has various experiences in which readers can discover the social structures in her life. Through Janie’s story of self-discovery, Hurston reveals social constructs of the time, especially race and wealth, by including anecdotes, complex characters, and thought-provoking scenes that highlight controversial issues.

Susan B. Anthony once said there is not a women born who desires to eat the bread of dependence. In the novel Their eyes were watching god by Zora Neal Hurston, Janie Crawford depicts the life of a young African women who struggles with male dominance. As well for Mrs. Mallard in The story of an hour by Kate Chopin. Both of these women become independent, share experiences with male dominance and share an appealing perspective toward nature. They also have distinctive outcomes in their lives. Janie and Mrs. Mallard share similarities in their lives and distinctions as well.

When she meets Tea Cake, a younger man who treats her as an equal, Janie's silence starts to break. She is able to speak freely and openly with him, and their relationship is based on mutual respect and understanding. Tea Cake encourages Janie to speak her mind and even teaches her how to shoot a gun, symbolizing her newfound power and agency. Janie's silence in her previous marriage was a result of being controlled and oppressed, but with Tea Cake, her silence becomes a choice. She chooses to remain silent when she feels it is necessary, not because she is forced

Quinn Stephanie Reid English 2 8th August 2024 Quinn O'Hare: Their Eyes Were Watching God - Final Assessment In the novel titled, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," written by Zora Neale Hurston, Janie's experiences with life throughout the novel are symbolized through two prominent objects. The first symbol is the pear tree, a tree that Janie stretched back against in nature, taking in all the feelings of true love and fulfillment in life that the tree brought her. The second is the horizon, a vision Janie manifests in her mind that represents aspirations for her own freedom and personal desires that go beyond the societal constraints of a woman. Both of these symbols work together throughout the novel to personify Janie's quest for love and

Tea Cake loves Janie, and does not want to lose her to anyone, but this gets him into trouble when he makes to decision to beat her in order to scare off another man. He begins his justification by telling his friends “Ah didn’t wants whup her last night” (Hurston, 148). By stating this he is trying to invoke emotion in his audience by showing them that he feels bad for what he has done. He continues on to state “but ol’ Mis’ Turner done sent for her brother tuh come tuh bait Janie in and taker her way from me” (Hurston, 148). As he puts the blame on Mrs. Turner he is able to create a sense of anger in his audience while also using sound reasoning to show that his only choice was to resort

Richard Wright and Alain Locke’s critique on Zora Neale Hurston’s novel Their Eyes Were Watching God reveal the common notion held by many of the time, and still today, that there is a right and wrong way for a black person to talk and to act. Wright’s point of view of clearly racially charged and coming from a place of ignorance and intolerance. While, Locke’s point is simply due to a lack of an ability to think out of the box and observe deeper meaning, perhaps due to internalized oppression and a fearful desire to talk and act just like a white man in order to be taken seriously. Wright’s argument that the novel has no central theme and is parallel to minstrel shows, and Locke’s belief that Hurston uses relatable language to avoid diving into mature writing, are inherently wrong and fueled by the very issues Hurston was trying to combat: racism and sexism.

I read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, copyright in 1937 and has a total of 193 pages.

On the new book cover there is a mule, to help show that Janie is stubborn and that her relationship with Joe Starks. Janie and Joe’s relationship is strained. However it shows more than that, the mule can refer to any black women struggling for independence. “ Honey, de white man is the ruler of everything as fur as Ah been able tuh find out. Maybe it’s some place way off in de ocean where de black man is in power, but we don’t know nothin’ but what we see. So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up cause he have to, but

In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Hurston reinforces the idea of understanding oneself by the use of repeating patterns such as the blossom and the bee, and the horizon throughout the novel. The use of these two motifs represents the ideal relationship, an effortless union of individuals and the possibility of change or dreams and wishes. Janie Crawford in the beginning of the novel is a young lady who is naïve to love and will do anything that is asked of her. She is essentially forced into a marriage that her Nanny set up for her, for her own protection. Janie denies at first but then gives in, believing she will fall

Tea Cake returns home after Janie has a panic attack regarding the two hundred dollars she thought he stole. She assumed he had run off, but he returned with it. This sets up trust between the two parties. Additionally, there is understanding between the two of them, as Tea Cake accepts that she wishes to accompany him to future events. This also sets them up to spend time with each other instead of Janie being isolated like she was with Jody.

Symbols in literary works can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Symbols can appear in a novel as an event, action, or object. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, the author, Zora Neale Hurston, uses the symbols of the gate to show Janie’s transitions to womanhood, independence from oppression, and realization of what love is to Janie.